Qualification tests a must for engineers

JEDDAH: All Saudi and expatriate engineers will have to undergo certain tests before they get licenses to work in Saudi Arabia, the head of engineering offices at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Talal Samarqandi, has said. Earlier, the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) had announced the discovery of 1,200 fake certificates of expat engineers working on projects in previous years. Foreigners who came on engineer’s visa, but who were not engineers, had their visas changed, Samarqandi said, adding that they made sure that those working in the engineering sector were genuine. Out of 200,000 engineers working in the Kingdom, 1,200 were found to have submitted fake certificates. The engineers are accredited and there is a new system to qualify them, he said. "All engineers will have to pass technical tests and a deal has been struck with the National Center for Assessment in Higher Education4 (Qiyas) for this. There will be two tests — the first is on the principles and basics of engineering for fresh graduates and the second for engineers who have completed 10 years of service to qualify them for project director's post," Samarqandi said. He said an engineer, especially fresh graduate, has to do certain courses annually to ensure continuity of his professional license. Samarqandi said the SCE was working in a professional way and referred to the opening of a forum for male and female engineers in Jeddah. He appreciated the council for cutting the fees of the training course from SR5,000 to SR1,000. He said Saudi engineers represent 25 percent of the total number of engineers working in the Kingdom. However, Saudi engineers represent 4 percent of the total members at the SCE, or 7,000 out of 108,000 SCE members, he said. -arabnews